Hand-operated fire extinguishers are usually mounted on a wall surface in public places, such as the work-place, public thoroughfares, stairwells, as well as in open areas that might contain inflammable materials and thus contribute to the outbreak of fire. Such fire extinguishers are most usually mounted directly on a wall-surface or on a bracket of some kind which is itself mounted on a wall-surface, so that the fire extinguisher can be easily removed from the bracket used for its intended purpose and then eventually replaced with a substitute on the same wall-bracket.
In the past such brackets were constructed so as to serve the simple utilitarian purpose of supporting the fire extinguisher without any thought given to the need for providing some kind of high profile signal or indication as to the location of the fire extinguisher, especially under those emergency conditions in which the fire extinguisher would actually be used and when the safety of the individuals present is at grave risk. It soon becomes apparent that under such conditions panic prevails and time itself becomes a key factor in determining when and if the threat or the reality of a fire can be dealt with adequately. If, for example, the location of the fire extinguisher is not readily known (which is usually the case) then a last minute attempt to find its location could delay its use, a delay that could well have disastrous consequences. Normally, such fire extinguishers are of a monochrome color, red or brown, for example, and are mounted on a wooden or metal bracket which is equally, if not more so, subdued in appearance. Anyone in a state of panic looking for a fire extinguisher whose immediate whereabouts is not known is not only wasting valuable time in the search but is also subjecting himself or herself to an increasingly stressful situation in which frustration and panic may well take over, completely preempting, therefore, the kind of rational judgement required under such conditions.